Local truck assembly on the planning boards

Road hauliers may soon be able to include locally made trucks in their fleets if the government's plans to restart local assembly make it out of the gate. The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) released in February this year admits: “The medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHVC) sector has not received adequate policy attention. “There are opportunities to resuscitate bus production in South Africa as well other MHCVs, leveraging opportunities such as the roll-out of Bus Rapid Transport Systems in Metros and the growing demand for other MHCVs in relation to areas such as infrastructure, construction, mining and possibly agricultural demand,” says the report. This includes a stronger focus on so called ‘yellow metals’ manufacturers of products such as articulated dump trucks.